Kid dies even as mom seeks mercy killing

Punganur (Chittoor district): In a heart-wrenching incident, an 8-year-old boy suffering with a serious ailment died after his mother tried in vain to file a petition for mercy killing in the court here on Tuesday.

Aruna from Beerjaepalle village in Chowdepalle mandal in Chittoor district came here along with her son Harshavardhan to file the petition for mercy killing of her son suffering with serious ailment for four years.

As the court was not functioning due to vacation, she and her son were returning home when the boy collapsed and died much to the shock and sadness of his mother.

Harshavardhan who was the elder son of K Mani and Aruna, both poor landless agricultural labourers, suffered an injury in the nose after he accidentally fell down resulting in frequent bleeding from nose which sometimes lasted for hours, four years back.

After treatment in government and private hospitals involving about Rs 1.2 lakh, the bleeding was stopped but not completely forcing the poor parents to take the boy again to private hospitals for treatment costing the poor couple again Rs 4 lakh.

The doctors suggested the parents take the boy for treatment in a leading private hospital in the city for the boy to get complete cure of his ailment. The doctors including child specialists also observed that the excess bleeding resulted in low-level of Haemo doctorslobin and the subsequent complication endangering the life of the boy while seeking the parents not to delay taking the boy to a city hospital for an expert treatment to save the boy from death.

Mani unable to bear the agony of his son, the difficulties the family is facing for treatment and also unbearable debt burden, left the house 10 days back and his whereabouts are still not known.

Against the gloomy backdrop, Aruna, unable to find out a way to come out of the plethora of problems, resolved to approach the court for granting mercy killing of her son to bring an end to the torment of the family, as advised by a person in the village.

She along with her son came to Punganur on Tuesday to file a petition in the court for mercy killing but could not file the petition due to vacation to civil courts.

Disappointed the mother and son were returning home when the boy breathed his last in the auto-rickshaw bringing a tragic end to the four-year-long struggle of the boy and also his family.The sorrowful end of the boy shook everyone in the village and sent shockwaves in the district.